Remember Me
by Irrelevancy
Summary: OneShot. SetoJou. Two words written on a postcard, never mailed out to that person so much more important than that a friend. Angst. You've been warned.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: In some unspoken rule in my universe, I have decided that all tragedies I happen to think of at the time that HAS to become a fanfic will be uploaded onto Yu-Gi-Oh**

**Uh... Jou? Kaiba? I really do sincerely apologize. I hold no threatening sadistic purposes towards you... but that's just the way I am.**

**Plus, everyone loved Romeo & Juliet, right?**

**...right?**

**I've written this under the belief that...**

**the most painful thing for someone you love so very much to do to you...**

**is not to leave you or to hurt you**

**but to not even care that much about you...**

**to hold not enough feelings towards you...**

**to even hate you.  
**

* * *

_In the recent plane crash we have rescued 55 people, 10 in which are in coma, 6 in a state of shock, and 27 mildly injured. However, only on survivor was close enough to the front of the airplane to know what happened in the mysterious tragedy. Unfortunately, the teen, Seto Kaiba, despite not sustaining any serious injuries, appear to suffer from a serious case of amnesia. Investigation has been put out until further notice by doctor's words. Seventy-two year old survivor…_

_Continue on page A3_

Postcards…?

Jounouchi stared past his friend's joking faces, right at the rusty black rack that held several dozen postcards. His gaze trained on the 100 yen written on a piece of flimsy cardboard taped in front of a stack.

"Jounouchi-kun? Is there something-"

"I'll be right back…"

The boy could only stare at his friend's back, hunched from the cold of the mountains, as he headed towards the souvenir store.

--

"Buyin' somethin' boy?" the potbellied storeowner called out from inside the shop with a gruff voice. Jou nodded blindly in response, eyes still adjusting to the sudden dimness.

"Postcard."

"Oh. Alright. They're out there."

This time, Jou could just make out the dismissing wave of a pale hand, and then a puff of tobacco smoke rising behind it. He could practically hear it…

_Kids these days…_

Swallowing a laugh, the teen started tugging off the worn woolen glove on his right hand with his teeth finger by finger, eyes scanning the various columns while the left hand spun around the rack. Various images flipped by, from boyish cartoons, sophisticated animations, wedding vows, to simple scenery shots. Once upon a time someone had made an attempt to organize the cards by category, for faded black plaques are nailed onto about every other crossing bar. But apparently, that system has been given up on long ago.

Jou was just about to give up his half-hearted search when something caught his eyes. It was a picture of a pale blue petal of a forget-me-not on the bottom of a glass of water. The simplicity and the natural beauty resulted in an overwhelming urge of memories and reminisce. After all, the pure blue of the petal and the crystalline quality of the fresh water was all quite resonating in the blonde's mind. A first glance brought a soft smile, then the second brought a surge of horrified doubt and frightened anger.

"You're not back yet…"

"Pardon?"

Jou jumped at the storeowner's voice. He didn't realize he had spoken out loud in his thoughts.

With an apologetic glance, the teen said, "I'd like to buy this."

The man nodded, expression somewhat skeptical. But he figured it was better not to ask.

"100 yen."

Digging into his pocket for a coin, something came to Jou's mind.

"Here. And can I borrow a pen Mister?"

The man nodded, stuffing the coin into his breast pocket and then dug into a drawer behind the counter, coming back up with a ballpoint pen. He turned away, embarrassed, from the teen's appreciative smile, knowing it was not really meant for him. He watched, striking a match to light the cigar dangling from the corner of his mouth. When customers ask for this, they usually write a long gushy letter to their love ones telling them how much they missed their darlings, so the storeowner never bothered to even try looking over the messages. But there was just something about this particular teen's eyes. Behind the warm, cheerful chocolate brown there was the monotonous gray of numbness. And…

And when his eyes caught that picture, deep agony.

He thought he had seen it when the girl on the newspaper lost her parents and home in a war. He thought he had seen it when the drug addict mother woke up from her crack-induced trance to find that she had killed her only son. He thought he had seen it when the father killed his wife and children, then hung himself to save them from debt. But now…

Those were nothing compared to this.

Heart-wrenching pain. Shear, excruciating agony.

There was a difference in those eyes, he can tell. The sole thing that was different from him to everyone else.

He tries to hide it.

Not only that, but he _does_. He hides it so good that no one can find it. Even if… it _that_ person can break through all the barriers, locks, firewalls he had set up around himself, the pain… it'd be too great for anyone to bear.

It made him want to rip whoever caused the boy this much pain from limb to limb and throw him off a cliff.

The storeowner watched Jou's hesitant pen, posed over the paper, right in the center. Undetermined, the teen's bare hand trembled slightly. He took a deep breath, air in front of him crystallizing into a white cloud; visible in the dark store. The sight seemed to renew his strength. With a firm set of his lips, Jou quickly wrote two words across the center of the paper. To the man's surprise, his penmanship was fairly good, overlooking the gangster stereotype. Curious, he reached out for the card.

"May I see?"

The blonde seemed surprised at the request, but then smiled.

"Sure."

Even if he handed it to him, reading it wasn't his first priority. The smile and the "sure" spoken by the boy sounded… numb. Yes, numb. It was the best word for it. There was no emotion behind it. Even the smile was just a kind upturn of lips. For politeness's sake.

Doubtfully, the storeowner glanced down at the postcard, dark-acquainted eyes quickly registering the words. Quietly, he handed it back.

"Who's it for?"

"…"

"A friend?"

"…Someone…so much more than a friend…"

* * *

**A/N: For this particular ficcy...**

**It actually started out as a more or less happy reunion fic**

**I figured I'd give it a try**

**after realizing none of my stories ever had a happy ending without anyone dying**

**SO...**

**there I was, typing away**

**when my muse whom I had named sadist for quite obvious reasons (naw... reeeeeeeeeeeeeeelly?)**

**just went all...**

**"LET'S GIVE SETO AMNESIA!"**

**~.~**

**So I argue**

**"Isn't insomnia enough?"**

**So alotta she said I said**

**she won**

**'cause that stoic part of myself...**

**had to give in**

**If you're wondering....**

**I was going to have that card fly away**

**written on it**

**"Tadaima"**

**Then at night, Jou felt an impulse to go to Kaiba's house**

**he was at the front door**

**when he felt someone behind him**

**he turns**

**voila~**

**Kaiba**

**He holds up the card**

**"Okairi"**

**xD**

**I wasn't gonna give him amnesia though**

**Just a case of the disappearing CEO**

**Perhaps I'll write that one**

**ahem, correction**

**RE-write that, if pplz ask~**

**hm...**

**R&R~~??**

**Well, the first R's not necessary if you have already read this far**

**and withstood my rantings**

**xDD**

**cya~~!**

**And thanks, everyone who reviewed for my other SetoJou ficcies!**

**Perhaps I should just dump them all in one...  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: And here it is, the second chappy~~**

**I've gotten a lotta response...**

**well, more than I hoped for~~~**

**And so, here it is~~!**

**The HAPPY (ahem, Cali) conclusion to a HAPPY story**

**sorry, inside joke  
**

* * *

"Hey Kaiba. How're you doin'?" Jounouchi greeted as he stepped within the CEO's room. He was greeted by the sight of Seto sitting up in his bed, his trademark scowl on his face, and that laptop on his lap. He looked up from furiously typing to the blonde for a second, then looked right back. Jou had to focus to keep that smile on his lips.

"It's you."

"It's me, remember?"

"How can I not?" Those words sent a jolt through the blonde. Could it be…?

"You were the first annoying face I saw at the hospital, nagging me to say something."

…Of course not.

Jou relaxed the fist he didn't realize he had made, and leaned back against the closed door, chocolate brown eyes just staring at Kaiba. Feeling the glance, the brunet looked up, scowling at the interference.

"What do you want?"

Jou could laugh, if it wasn't for this hollow emptiness inside him. This was almost like every other morning, when he would sit up on the CEO's bed, staring at him, wondering if it was a dream or reality. He'd always receive a snappy remark about shower, but then a tender comment afterwards. But now… He could only laugh bitterly at the cruel hands of fate.

"Nothin'. I'll just go now." It was the parting he had used within the last month, within the every day he'd check on his lover, seeing if he had remembered… something. He'd tell himself anything was fine… But that'd just be a lie. More than anything in the word Jou wanted Kaiba to remember him again, to softly draw his long fingers through his hair, to plant soft kisses along his skin…

But he has to face the truth. Reality. He probably never will.

Screaming and yelling didn't work. It was the first thing Jou tried. It had taken Yami, Otogi, and Honda to wrestle him away from the bedside of the oblivious… cold… Seto. The stupid therapy thing hadn't helped. It was the first thing Mokuba tried for his big brother. It turned out that the brunet could remember everything up to meeting well, meeting Jou. Even in bed, the CEO worried about his company. It was cruel to the blonde, knowing that work was once again everything in his lover's life. Since then, it had just been everyday greetings and short exchanges of words.

Painful.

Wrenching his gaze away from those harshly unfamiliar cerulean eyes, Jou turned for the door. The first shock came when he had a hand on the doorknob.

His eyes down, the blonde didn't notice at first, what had caused the bang by the side of his head. But when his gaze slowly traveled up, he saw that familiar pale hand, right there, within reach. Subconscious took over, and his eyes automatically started following that hand up those dark blue sleeves. But he once again woke up, and froze at the elbow. Afraid to look past anymore.

"Kaiba…?" Jou breathed, aware said brunet was inches away from himself.

"Look. Mokuba told me you people were just old acquaintances. But the way you come to visit everyday suggests otherwise. When I ask about it, Mokuba panics and wouldn't tell me. So why don't you just come out with it?"

Despite the irritated tone, there was a sense of panic and urgency in Seto's tone. Jou could make out that much. But his words stung. If he didn't remember, and make sense of it by himself, what use would it be to just _claim_ he used to be the CEO's most important person? The stinging in his chest rose to his throat, then his eyes, long enough to delay him that split second to swallow before turning to give Kaiba a piece of his mind. But…

What he didn't expect, was to have soft, _familiar_ lips meet his halfway there. It seemed like a shocking eternity before Kaiba pulled back. Brown met blue, and Jou saw… uncertainty in those icy depths.

"And why…" His voice was husky with emotions, eyes half-lidded. "…do I feel like doing that every time I see you…?"

Jou opened his mouth to speak, but the words – whatever those may be – caught in his throat. When he snapped out of his reverie, hard-concealed tears found there way out and down his cheeks.

"J-Jou…?" The blonde had to laugh. Seto Kaiba distressed wasn't something you see everyday. With the laugh, he turned around fully, and wrapped his arms around the slim torso he knows so well, burying his face within the soft material. He could feel his lover's body tense beneath him, but after a while, it relaxed, and uncertain hands reached out and pulled him close.

"…Kaiba?" Jou muttered after a few minutes of comfortable silence. Said teen gave a small grunt as a reply, head still on the golden tresses. Jou bit his lip. He had to ask… Ask _that_ question that brought him nightmares for so long.

"…Do you remember me?"

It was a heart-stopping moment when Kaiba's fingers stopped its soft caress on his back (when did it start?) and pulled away slowly. Jou almost didn't want to let go. But if this was the way it is…

"…No… I'm sorry…"

…That was the answer. A harsh, bitter cry came out of the blonde's mouth as he fell back against the door, sliding to the ground slowly. Choked sobs rushed out of him, replacing inaudible words that never made sense. The agony tore at his heart, his chest… everywhere. It hurt to breathe, to blink… It hurt to hurt. It's been a month now. He just can't take it any longer…!

"It doesn't mean I won't try!" In his agonized stupor Jou didn't notice Seto's pained expression. His shocked and guilty one when he broke down crying. He didn't notice the CEO slowly drop down on his haunches besides him, excruciatingly morbid eyes watching each painful wrench of his lover's body.

"What's there to try…?" His voice sounded pathetic to the blonde himself. Even the current him couldn't impress Seto Kaiba in any way. Perhaps the two's relationship was doomed to begin with.

The thought brought a fresh round of tears to his already puffy eyes.

"I remembered up to Battle City with that kiss Jou," Seto admitted, gaze dropping to the side. This new piece of information snapped the blonde's head up in two seconds flat.

"What?!"

"…More might come to me if there's the right trigger…"

Jou stared at Seto, eyes wide with shock. When has _coy _been in the CEO's dictionary?! But he had to give in to him. He did so with a small muted laugh and a minute smile; the gentle one even his friends seldom saw.

"Alright. You win. Just promise me you'll remember, alright?" Seto smiled inwardly at the school-teacher tone Jou had on, then leaned in for his "trigger".

"Alright…"

--

Seto sat up on the bed, eyes gazing at his sleeping lover besides him, fingers fondly brushing through the soft locks.

"You didn't even stay awake long enough to ask…" he muttered gently. The time with Jou was the only time when he truly lost the cold CEO façade to the softly shining warmth of the blonde beside him. Indeed, the ah, _events_ of the previous night worked well as a trigger for his memory, and within blurry segments of the evening, it had all came back to him, including the plane crash. The previous Seto Kaiba would've stopped whatever he was doing immediately and e-mailed the police about it right away. But right now, all he wanted to do was to bring his arms around his lover's warm back and pull him close, sharing the warmth. And that was what he did, reaching down for the top of the sheet to pull over them. But his fingers clutched around instead, a crumpled piece of paper that came from Jounouchi's back pocket.

He mouthed the two words written on that single sheet of paper. Those two simple words brought a fresh wave of emotions onto him: adoration, guilt, fondness… Seto laid back down on the bed, putting the card beside him, pulling Jou in a tight embrace. For the first time since he was small, the brunet let a single tear escape from his eyes. It was just too much… The plane… his memories…

Jou…

"Kaiba…" the puppy muttered in his sleep, arms curling around his lover's waist. A light furrow topped his eyebrows.

"Don't go… Don't leave…"

After a tender moment of swallowing the lump in his throat, Seto leaned in, pressing his lips softly against Jou's brow.

"Never puppy…" he whispered. "Never again…"

A gust of wind blew in from the opened window. But it didn't matter, for that time, Seto was also asleep besides his puppy. The soft breeze carried the forgotten postcard up into the air, then slowly drifting down onto the carpeted floor. The simple photograph laid face down on the carpet, so the two words were exposed for the entire world to see, if it wasn't for the lock on the mahogany door. Indeed, it was the postcard from Jou, that never got to its destination.

_"Remember me…"_

…Or did it?

* * *

**A/N: The two words, incase someone still hasn't figured it out**

**xDDD**

**Thank you Lissa, for inspiring me in this chappy**

**I realize Seto was somewhat OOC at the end**

**But hey, bear in mind that this was the _hidden_ Seto... The one he doesn't usually let people see**

**Not even Jou**

**I mean, Jou is after all, asleep right here**

**At first, I wanted something dramatic, something that just goes BAM!**

**like that**

**but then I realized...**

**I've got a stack of manga waiting for me to finish downstairs**

**so au revoir~~~!**

**xD**

**Nah, jk~**

**But well, I'm not saying that's the _whole_ reason...**

**R&R, please~?**

**Tell me how my conclusion was... sucky...?**


End file.
